1
Toby Flood: 'Horrible and nasty' duo made difference for England
Toby Flood has hailed the influence of Leicester duo Ollie Chessum and George Martin in firing up England in the Guinness Six Nations.
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Steve Borthwick’s squad enjoyed a March renaissance which saw them upset the double Grand Slam-chasing Ireland and come within a late penalty kick of winning away in France and finishing in second place.
Chessum started the tournament as the second row partner to Maro Itoje. However, with Martin making his return from injury as a round three replacement against Scotland, Borthwick decided to shift Chessum to blindside for the closing two matches so that Martin could be included as a second row starter.
The decision worked a treat as Chessum and Martin flourished in those games and their performances have now been acclaimed by Flood, the retired England out-half, who told OLBG: “They do look to the manor born.
“I saw on social media about Ollie’s output on a Wattbike. There were raised eyebrows at the incredible things he was doing. Athletically he is a freak. He is the natural heir to Courtney Lawes.
Six Nations
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Ireland
5
4
1
0
20
2
France
5
3
1
1
15
3
England
5
3
2
0
14
4
Scotland
5
2
3
0
12
5
Italy
5
2
2
1
11
6
Wales
5
0
5
0
4
“I remember seeing Martin in the corridors at Leicester and I was talking to Matt Smith, an old teammate who was the academy coach at the club. Matt doesn’t give out praise easily, but he pointed at George and said, ‘He’s proper.’
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“The pair of them provide the grunt and just whack people. They are horrible and nasty in the best possible meaning. You have to have that when you come across big packs like France. You need to have people who can repeatedly go to the well. They really look serious. You can sense when someone has got it and they do have it.”
Flood claimed that the selection of both Chessum and Martin as starters allowed Maro Itoje to contribute better than he had done in February. “Maro was difficult and mischievous; he looked like he was beginning to enjoy his rugby again.
“Those two playing as they did free up Maro to go about his business and not worry about other parts of his game he might not be so proficient at.”
Flood, meanwhile, compared the influence of George Ford as the No10 as similar to the effect of football’s Mo Salah with Liverpool. “I have always been a huge fan of George’s. He is a fantastic player. He is slight so people will target him, but his ability in terms of understanding the game is up there with the best.
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“He is another coach on the field. They talked about Jordan Henderson being that for Liverpool before he left, telling everyone what to do and people asking him. Mo Salah would be very similar.
“George still has time on his side. He has only just turned 31. He can easily make another Rugby World Cup. To have him in amongst that squad with his knowledge and with Marcus Smith as back-up, they have quality and the luxury of two players who are very, very good.”
Flood named Tommy Freeman as his breakthrough England player and Ben Earl as his England player of the tournament, while he named Ireland out-half Jack Crowley as his top player overall.
“Tommy Freeman just looks natural at international level, a player who can fit in incredibly well. He looked like he didn’t miss a beat. He looked like somebody very much at home in the international arena. He didn’t look worried about the expectations.
“There were question marks about Ben before the tournament about whether he was big enough and powerful enough as a No8, but his feet, movement and ability to beat a man were outstanding. He was just so consistent.”
Regarding his best overall pick, Flood explained: “I have a big soft spot for Thomas Ramos but it is hard to look past Ireland and Jack Crowley who fitted into Johnny Sexton’s shoes very comfortably. He was impressive and managed with ease what everyone felt was going to be a difficult transition.”
Comments on RugbyPass
“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
37 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
1 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
33 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
5 Go to comments